Catch up with all the latest news from across the county with Oliver Leader de Saxe.
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00:00Hello and welcome to Kent Tonight, live here on KMTV.
00:28I'm Oli Leder and here are your top stories on Tuesday 29th April.
00:36Are Kent's dog days over?
00:38Heatwave hits the county as canine beach band beckons.
00:46Coalition on the cards.
00:48Deputy Liberal Democrat lead a noncommittal ahead of KCC elections.
00:56And pitching safety, meet the Folkestone father using indoor football to help educate children
01:03on the roads.
01:06Now first this evening a heatwave has hit the county with parts of Kent potentially reaching
01:13highs of 28 degrees later this week.
01:17But for our canine companions the start of summer also signals a ban for dogs across
01:23many of Kent's beaches from May through until the end of September.
01:29But is this fair?
01:30Well Finn McDermott went down to Herne Bay for us earlier to find out.
01:36Paddling pools, barbecues and some garden tanning.
01:39These are some of the things you might not be expecting to do at the end of April.
01:43But we actually are in the middle of a hot spell.
01:46It's not quite a heatwave but essentially over this next week and peaking on Thursday we're
01:50going to see some ridiculously high temperatures.
01:5327 degrees potentially on Thursday like I say that's the hottest one.
01:57It would make it the hottest April weather in seven years.
02:01But what does this mean for Kent?
02:02Well obviously we're a very coastal county and the beaches as always they're set to be
02:08full of dogs.
02:09But at certain beaches across the county this just won't be the case.
02:13As there's banning, there's bans in place here at Herne Bay from the 1st of May all the
02:18way until September 30th.
02:19Now it's not just Herne Bay, there's also at Tankerton and select beaches across Folkestone,
02:25Thanet and other areas.
02:26But it's not completely, it's not a complete ban I should say.
02:30In certain areas it's from 9am and 10am until 6pm.
02:34But here in Herne Bay and other sort of Canterbury districts it is a complete ban across 24 hours
02:39until September.
02:40Now the question is, is this fair?
02:42Their reason is because they want to protect the beaches if visitors come down and visit.
02:47They want it to look nice for the summer sun.
02:49But the question is, is that fair on the dogs and their owners?
02:51So I've been speaking, I've been going across the beach and speaking to locals here in Herne
02:55Bay to get a sense of whether or not they think this is justifiable.
02:59I don't have a problem with dogs not being allowed on a beach when there are families
03:04in the summertime.
03:07The main thing about being a dog owner is being responsible.
03:10So if you choose to have a dog then you must also clear up anything that they may leave
03:15behind.
03:16I can kind of understand in one respect because it's like a catch 2.22.
03:22As long as the dog's on its lead, I don't think there should be an issue.
03:28I don't think they should be off the lead because obviously you have young children etc.
03:32I think it's probably a good idea because in most places now, seaside resorts, they do
03:39have a summer ban and then they're allowed on in the winter months to walk the dogs.
03:48So I am a dog owner and currently I'm a tourist here in Fern Bay.
03:54And I think it's reasonable to have spaces for dog friendly areas but also spaces that
04:04are dog free.
04:05some people are frightened of dogs and things and so I think that's fair for people to have
04:12their own space.
04:13Now unfortunately for dogs and their owners, it doesn't seem like they'll be able to bring
04:17their dogs to this specific stretch of beach but there are other areas of the beach that
04:21you can use and with all this summer weather and it's only for this week so we need to
04:25make sure we enjoy it as much as possible.
04:27So very sorry to all those dogs and dog owners but the rest of us still should enjoy the beach.
04:46Better Finn than me there.
04:48Now let's see if that weather holds shall we?
04:50Here's the weather for the rest of the week.
04:57Clear skies tonight temperatures of 24 degrees in Ashford and Royal Turnbridge Wells into
05:04tomorrow morning.
05:06Still quite high temperatures 20 degrees up in Dartford 21 on the coast into the afternoon
05:13reaching highs of 26 over in Maidstone clear skies overhead and for the weekend
05:20those temperatures dropping back down to 12 by Sunday.
05:24Still some sunshine on Friday, clouds setting in though.
05:31Well while many of us welcome the warmer weather, many do feel anxiety about their skin during
05:40the warmer months.
05:41With around nearly 80% of people say they feel more anxious about their skin during this time.
05:49including one woman with a rare skin condition who we talked to from Folkestone.
05:54Can you start by just explaining exactly what your skin condition is and how it impacts you?
05:59It's a very scaly round rash sort of thing and it tended to go on your lower limbs.
06:11According to the National Health it's incurable, it's seen as cosmetic and there's no real treatment.
06:22What sort of effect does that have on your life then?
06:27Because supposedly I would assume that your family and friends like to go out and enjoy themselves
06:31in the summer weather and that must put it down on things for yourself.
06:35I was I started getting the symptoms in my 40s.
06:40I wasn't diagnosed for many years.
06:42I'm now 70 and they mainly said keep out the sun.
06:47We're covering up clothes, which is ridiculous, you know, for most people.
06:53I mean, it's not that we get massive sun here.
06:55But they said just to just wear sun cream, wear long clothes, which I did for many years.
07:04It's exasperated by the sun.
07:07I wouldn't say that makes it worse because I think my skin looks better when it has a little bit of a tan.
07:14It sort of makes the spots not so noticeable.
07:18But there's no cream available that will, there's no cure, but there are cream from a pharmacy compounding company, Roseway,
07:29that actually does massively, massively help us.
07:34Yeah, and I was looking into compound pharmacies.
07:37They specialize in sort of preparing more custom medications and creams and things like that.
07:43Just explain how that's changed things for you.
07:45Because as you say, it must be quite frustrating to just be told you have this skin condition.
07:51There's nothing we can do about it.
07:52It is the way it is.
07:53It must feel a bit helpless that you want a bit more support.
07:57And where can you actually go to get this?
08:00Well, I found this compounding pharmacy, Roseway, from a DSAP Facebook group from all over the world.
08:13And they were the only one that was in England at the time and what I know of that started to compound it.
08:21But to get the cream, because it's compounded by them, you have to go through a private doctor.
08:29So I had to go through there.
08:32But there are other ladies who've gone through the same journey to get it.
08:37And once you've got it, they will prescribe it and they didn't have it delivered to you.
08:43And it just makes the spots so much paler, fader.
08:48In fact, they look like sometimes they just look like freckles,
08:52which makes going out without having to wear tights in the summer and long clothes all the time.
08:58I mean, it must be so much better.
09:02Yeah. I mean, you know, having to put all these sort of measures in place just to be able to go out and enjoy yourself in the sun.
09:09It's not something that anybody would sort of dream of.
09:11I suppose lots of people kind of take it for granted, you know, the sort of sunny weather and the fact that you have to go out and put all these measures in place.
09:17It must be I mean, do you go out as much now nowadays?
09:23I do. I do. Probably more now since I've been using the cream from Roseway.
09:30Before, I would probably avoid the sun, use very strong or very high factor sun cream, wear thinner clothes like I've got on today, you know, lighter type ones.
09:45But now I can wear a dress that's not down to my ankles.
09:49I don't have my little grandson saying, Nanny, what's that red on your legs, those spots?
09:54I don't have people saying, God, you've been bitten by mosquitoes, you know, because that's what it looks like.
10:00They're so angry. But the cream, the compounding cream stops it.
10:07Yeah. And it's clearly made such a difference to your life as well.
10:11I just want to for somebody watching that perhaps is worried for something that's a bit abnormal on their skin.
10:16And we're told by the doctors, by the pharmacist to keep track of your skin, your your freckles and if they change, if something.
10:24So tell us a bit about that diagnosis and when actually you thought, oh, I should perhaps get this checked in terms of giving some advice, really.
10:33It was it was a doctor when when my husband retired, we moved to Folkestone and it it became more prominent.
10:42And they just the doctor, to be fair, was using trying everything psoriasis, eczema, everything.
10:49And she sent me to the William Harvey Hospital and it was a I think he was an Australian doctor there.
10:56And he said to me straight away, you have a condition called DSAP.
11:01No, nobody's ever heard of it. And I said, right.
11:06And he he actually froze one of the larger red spots on my wrist off and then didn't there was no cream available.
11:17There was nothing. Just keep out the sun, keep the skin moisturized.
11:21And that was it. And it but it got it gradually has got worse over the years.
11:29It gets worse when I'm stressed.
11:33And it it's it's not as bad in the winter because you've covered up more.
11:40So it's just it's just not well known.
11:44And they kept saying it's it's very rare in England, but it's not rare in England anymore.
11:50We'll have more news after the break. I'll see you in a few minutes time.
16:05It was the turn of the Liberal Democrats.
16:09The deputy leader visited this community cafe, which supports a local special needs school
16:15in the area.
16:16That's one of the biggest expenses the next council will have to grapple with.
16:20What we need to see is a massive increase in the provision of special education needs places
16:25and whether that's in mainstream schools where they have to be supported or whether that's
16:30in special schools themselves.
16:31What we absolutely can't see is children who have special educational needs being moved
16:36into a mainstream school without the additional support to make sure that they can flourish.
16:41Kent County Council is the largest authority by population in England.
16:45It's also geographically big too. Now where the Lib Dems have been campaigning today is right
16:50on the fringe of the London boroughs. If I was to jump into my car, drive to the other side
16:55of the county, it would take me the best part of 90 minutes.
16:59Kent is the size of a small nation. So the county has an equally wide range of political views.
17:06Dacey, Conservatives have historically almost always hailed Kent County Council, but polling
17:11this time round suggests they might not be able to form a majority. Would you be prepared
17:16to work with the Tories?
17:17Every single vote for the Liberal Democrats is a vote for councillors who will work with
17:21the community, with parents and teachers to improve special educational needs locally
17:26here in Kent.
17:26Any parties you would roll out forming a coalition with Reform UK, would you form a coalition with them?
17:31Look, in the next few days, it is for me to say that people should be voting Liberal
17:35Democrat to get the best possible results for special educational needs, to improve the
17:39state of our roads and social care as well.
17:41Anyone you would form a coalition with?
17:43We are not taking any votes for granted by thinking about what might happen after 10pm
17:46on Thursday. Many people haven't made up their minds yet, and that's why I'm trying to
17:50encourage people to vote Liberal Democrat to get that strong voice here in Kent.
17:53But what issues are on voters' minds here?
17:57You know, I've had about three punches through potholes. You can't claim really. You try, but
18:03it doesn't happen.
18:05I just think that everything would be in the best possible taste for everyone and sorting
18:12out things that aren't going well.
18:15Polls open at 7am on Thursday 1st May and a full list of candidates can be found on KCC's
18:22website. Gabriel Morris in Westrum.
18:24Now that spring has firmly sprung here in the county, we're in the heart of lambing season,
18:32with sheep being born across the Garden of England. But what does this mean for the county's
18:40farmers? Well, we spoke to Hannah Watson from Rare Breed Centre in Ashford about this earlier
18:46today on the Kent Morning Show.
18:48It's amazing. I mean, I love this time of year, just when the lambs are popped out and
18:53they get up and 10 minutes they're up and feeding and it just is, it's a miracle basically.
19:00It's a miracle of nature. And that's what I love about this season. It's what I love about
19:06farming really. We work with the rare breeds here. I love learning about them and obviously
19:12we involve our students with special needs, helping to look after them. It's just, it's
19:19just the whole, you're constantly learning in the farming industry all the time.
19:25Do you think enough young people are still turning to farming or going to these apprenticeships
19:31are keeping up such a traditional trade, especially here in Kent?
19:37So we've got a lot of children that come through us because we're a farm attraction open to the
19:47public. And you get a lot of children saying, oh, I want to be a farmer. I want to work with
19:52animals or the parents saying, oh, they want to work with a vet or stuff like this. And it's
19:57really, it's really good for us to be able to educate them in that a little bit or to show
20:02them little bits and pieces of what we do. We can't get them involved so much, but we do explain
20:07everything that we're doing because obviously if a sheep's lambing, we've got a whole audience
20:12watching what we're doing. And to the general public, it could look a little bit rough or a
20:18little bit painful to the sheep. So you're constantly explaining what's happening. So we do our bit in
20:26explaining what we do, why we do it and how we work basically.
20:33I suppose that's the key sort of ingredient, isn't it, to making sure that there is another
20:38generation is by inspiring people, is by being so open, inviting people to come down and taking a
20:43look at what you do. So take us through, just before we wrap up, through the Rare Breed Centre
20:49there. And obviously, as the name suggests, you deal with a lot of rare breeds. So tell
20:53us what, what are some more of the sort of, you know, rarer breeds of sheep or lamb?
21:01Excuse me. So we, our rarest breed is probably the coloured Lincoln. There's only actually eight
21:09flocks of them left in the country. And we currently are struggling to find a new ram that is not
21:15related to the females that we have. So you've got them on one hand, you've got the Manx, Manx Lawtons.
21:23They've, this year in the RBST watch list, they've gone from the middle section, which I can't actually
21:33remember what it's called, to the highest priority status. So they've actually gone down in number in
21:39the last couple of years, which is a shame. So we'll be keeping an eye on them. We've got Wensleydales,
21:47as also known as a dreadlock sheep, because they get the really curly ring locks that come to like 30,
21:5235 centimetres in their first year of life. So their wool is amazing, but really hard to keep, to keep nice.
21:59And if you enjoyed that good news story, we have plenty more like it on our website, including this report from Henry Luck.
22:07The Thai Orchid here in Maidstone is celebrating New Years in April, with a tradition of their own.
22:15Sonkran, derived from the Skanska word, Sankranti, meaning passing or approaching,
22:23is a national three day holiday in Thailand. An important part of Sonkran is water, because it's used as a
22:33spiritual cleanser to wash away the sins and misfortunes of the past year.
22:39One of the most important rituals of the event is paying respect to Buddhist monks by gifting them food.
22:47There's a time also with the Buddhist statue here. You'll see that the people will come by and they
22:53will pour water over the Buddhist statue. Again, offering respect, but at the same time as a purification.
23:01And then they will pour it over the hands of the monks as they walk by. And then over the elders.
23:07So any of the elders of the Thai community. It's a very beautiful tradition. It's a very beautiful day.
23:13The owner of the Thai Orchid wanted to bring the tradition of Sonkran for everyone in Maidstone to experience and enjoy.
23:22So what reminds me of Sonkran is water festival, you know, because in Thailand, people always say that there are three seasons.
23:31Hot, hotter and hottest, you know. So that's why April is the hottest month, you know.
23:36So that's why we have to bring the water, cold water and splash the water to each other.
23:42I decided to get a blessing myself from the Buddhist monks, which hopefully will give me good fortune for the year ahead.
23:51And there's more events coming up in 2025 for anyone hoping to get involved in the Thailand culture.
23:59OK, actually, it's not only for Thai community. We also promote this festival for locals like British, you know, or Europeans living here as well.
24:09We are really proud of our culture. So that's why we would like to spread this to other people to visit us.
24:16Henry Luck for KMTV in Maidstone.
24:21And finally, the father of a seven year old who was hit by a car in Folkestone more than a year and a half ago has launched a brand new indoor football pitch to teach children about road safety.
24:32William Brown senior open pitch seven with a hope of using the beautiful game his son loves so much to engage young people on Kent's South Coast.
24:43Indoor football is nothing new, but here at the Will Brown Junior Cafe, there's a slightly different goal in mind.
24:52Back in December of 2023, seven year old William Brown was killed by a car when collecting a football from the busy road outside his house.
25:03People love football. And this was Will's kid, which is obviously got great memories for me.
25:09Now his father wants to continue his son's legacy and keep children here in Folkestone on the side when it comes to traffic.
25:17And, you know, it's a positive message, although it's a sad thing that's happened.
25:21You know, we've turned it around into a positive thing. This is what Will would have wanted.
25:25You know, I felt Will say to me basically when the incident happened, you know, Dad, you've got to tell him about the roads.
25:32You know, you've got to because I don't feel that, you know, if he had more education on the roads, he wouldn't have been in that road getting a ball.
25:39William Brown senior says he's working with local schools on road safety seminars, turning his son's love of the beautiful game into life saving knowledge off the pitch.
25:53We've spoken to Will's school at St Innsworth's, so they'll be the first to come in.
25:58So what we're going to be doing is there's going to be a projector on this wall that's going to run a road safety video.
26:05So we can get the children in, you know, a bit like in the school hall, you know, all watching the road safety and obviously learning, you know, what happened to Will and more importantly, how it won't happen to them.
26:21William Brown junior's memory continues to live on in his hometown.
26:26But while some youngsters may just be here for the crossbar challenge, they could end up learning a thing or two about the challenges of safely crossing the road.
26:36Oliver leaders are thanks for KNTV in Folkestone.
26:40Well, you've been watching Kent tonight live here on KNTV.
26:45There's more news later in the evening.
26:46I'll see you soon.
26:47I'll see you soon.
26:48I'll see you soon.
26:54I'll see you soon.
26:55I'll see you soon.
26:56Bye.
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27:03Bye.